Weather strip



A. EGLI WEATHER STRIP 4Filed Dec. 17, 1940 l H HNDUHL rBrvEN'roR.

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l MCAT@ ri 0 hij erw Patented Oct. 13, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEWEATHER vSTRIP Albert Egli, san Jose, Calif.

Application December 17, 1940, Serial No. 370,508

(cl. .2o-68) 1 Claim.

weather strip of the character indicated that o will automaticallyadjust itself to the contour of any threshold over which it may bemounted, and one that will be automatically moved into and out ofposition relative to the threshold by the closing and opening ofthedoor.

It is another object to provide a weather strip of the characterindicated that may be quickly and easily applied to a door withoutremoving the door from its mounting in its frame, and without thenecessity of performing any work upon the door itself.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a device of thecharacter indicated that will be economical to manufacture, thatconsists of few and simple parts, that may be readily applied Withoutthe use of skilled labor, and that will be substantial, strong, durable,and highly eiiicient in its practical application.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a device em bodying my invention, withthe front plate removed, and in position on a door.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged elevation of a portion of the strip liftingoperating rod with associated parts.

Figure 5 is a diagrammatical illustration showing how the strip operateson a worn sill or threshold.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, I show at I a threshold,at 2 a portion of the door frame, and at 3 a portion of a door hingedlymounted on the frame at 4.

The casing enclosing the operating mechanism in the present instancecomprises a strip of sheet metal 5 having a length substantially equalto the width of the door against which it isseated with its lower edgealigning with the bottom of the door and its top edge turned outwardlyto form a top flange 6. The front of the casing is similarly formed by astrip 1 having a top inwardly turned ange 8 disposed to seat on flange6. The two strips are separated by spacers as 9, and the whole issecured together and to the door by screws as I0.

At II is shown a strip of felt equal in length to the casing 5-1 anddisposed lengthwise therein. The top edge of the felt strip II issupported and bound by four pieces of sheet metal as I2, I3, I4 and I5,these binding pieces being spaced apart lengthwise as at I6, I1 and I8.The spacing at I6, I1, I8 is such that each part I2, I3, I4, I5 has somefreedom of action, yet the strip II as a whole is at all times held inlongitudinal alignment.

At the center of each part I2, I3, I4 and I5 is mounted an upstandingloop as I2a, I3a, I4a and I 5a, the several loops extending upwardly thesame distance. At I9 is a flat bar passing through the several loops andvertically slidable therein, the width of the bar being less than theheight of the loops.

On the center of the bar I9 is mounted an upstanding tab 20, and at 2Iis a bell-crank pivotally mounted on casing part 5 as at 22, with itslong arm pivotally connected to the tab 20 at 23 and its short armengaging a pull-rod 24 at 25.

The rod 24 is slidably connected to the bellcrank at one end, and atthat end is bent over as at 26 so that a pull on the rod will actuatethe bell-crank. The other end of rod 24 slidably engages a stop 21 oncase part 5 and is tted with a head 28. A spring 29 is mounted on rod 24between the head 28 and stop 21, and the extremity of the rod beyondhead 28 is threaded to receive a threaded sleeve 30.

In use, the device is assembled and mounted on the door as described,and the sleeve 30 is adjusted on the rod 24 so as to project slightlybeyond the end of the casing 5--1. When the door is open the spring 29operates the rod and the bell-crank 2l to elevate the bar I9 and thefelt strip II suspended therefrom. When the door is closed the sleeve 3Bcontacts the frame 2, thereby compressing the spring 29 and sliding therod 24 inwardly and releasing the bell-crank so that the strip II willdrop by gravity to its seat on the threshold I.

An important feature of this invention is the mounting of the strip II.Since this strip is made of felt, or some similarly flexible material,it readily accommodates itself to a worn threshold as shown in Figure 5since the several parts I2, I3, I4 and I5 are spaced apart a little andthe intervening portions of the felt strip I I function as hinges,permitting. the weight of each part to seat the felt portion which itbinds on the underlying portion of the threshold however much it may beworn away.

In the present instance the tab 20 is pivotally mounted at Za a littleoff center of the bar i9, the end of the strip support adjacent thehinged edge of the door therefore being slightly heavier than the otherend. Since the hinged edge of the door approaches the centerline of thethreshold in advance of its free edge the result is that as soon as thebell-crank 2l is released slightly the inner end of the felt strip seatsupon the threshold, and then the weight of the bar and the other partsis applied to seating the balance of the strip.

Although but one specic embodiment of the invention has been hereinillustrated and described, it will be understood that Variousalterations in the details of construction and mode of application andassembly may be made Without departing from the scope of the inventionas indicated in the following claim. i*

I claim:

A weather strip assembly comprising, supporting mountable upon thebottom of a door to extend the length thereof, a vertically movable andsubstantially horizontal bar disposed length- Wise thereof intermediateits length, means operative to lift the bar mounted on the supportingmeans and pivotally connected to the central portion of the bar, aiiexible threshold strip having its top edge reinforced withlongitudinally spaced rigid members disposed below said bar, and avertically slidable lifting connection between the center of each memberand the overlying bar.

ALBERT EGLI.

